As I celebrate my ninth birthday and approach\u00a0retirement\u00a0(May 20, 2013) after nine years of service as official mascot of Butler University, I’m offering up yet more introspection derived from my existence.<\/p>\n
Inspired by Esquire Magazine’s\u00a0\u201cThe Meaning of Life\u201d issue and standing “What I’ve Learned” column, I’ve previously published such features of my own on two occasions. Being that they are\u00a0original\u00a0thoughts derived from the fabric of my life’s experiences, these words and ideas are still valid and thus, worth your consumption. You can access both of the entries listed below on this blog post.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Butler Blue II: What I’ve Learned (March 24, 2010)<\/p>\n Butler Blue II: What I’ve Learned – Second Installment (December 23, 2011)<\/a><\/p>\n Of course, similar prose exists as a result of interviews that I’ve done over the years as well.\u00a0That said, you may remember the\u00a0Proust Questionnaire<\/a>\u00a0that I completed for local marketing agency,Silver Square<\/a>;\u00a0and you may also remember that I added my two cents for\u00a0Indianapolis Monthly<\/a>\u00a0some years ago.<\/p>\n Without further adieu, my third installment of “What I’ve Learned…”<\/p>\n Butler Blue II: What I\u2019ve Learned (March 27, 2013)<\/strong><\/p>\n Mascot, 9, Indianapolis<\/p>\n Butler\u2019s mascot, America\u2019s dog, shares a dog’s eye view on the eve of\u00a0retirement\u00a0after nine years of honorable service.<\/em><\/p>\n I knew retirement and transition were all a part of the gig,<\/strong>\u00a0but I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t severely underestimate it.<\/p>\n Dragging me off the Hinkle Fieldhouse floor<\/strong>\u00a0may have been necessary after the Changing of the Collar Ceremony if I wasn’t so\u00a0obedient\u00a0 I love that place. Those basketball games are the best part of the job.<\/p>\n “It’s a long road to wisdom, but a short one to being ignored.” <\/strong>Pops listens to a lot of music and that lyric by The Lumineers has been echoing in my furry head for some time now. So simple, but so true.<\/p>\n Speaking as a being that is completely reliant upon the hand of humans, The story of the “Good\u00a0Samaritan”\u00a0needs to become required reading, for all of humanity. After all, what have you done to help a complete stranger lately?<\/p>\n If doing a good deed requires praise<\/strong>\u00a0or notice<\/strong> from someone other than your own conscious, you’re doing it wrong.<\/p>\n Butler Blue III is proof<\/strong> that that youth is wasted on the young.<\/p>\n As much as I hate to say it, sometimes people just need to cut Butler Blue III some slack.<\/strong> He’s a pup. He’s a seven-year-old version of a you, and you went looking for trouble when you were seven.<\/p>\n It’s both nice and annoying to be so adored by your little brother.<\/strong> I didn’t ask for it, but at the same time, the kid could be a lot worse. It’s all peaches and cream for Blue III until the day Blue IV shows up. Then he’ll see.<\/p>\n My veterinarian recently noted<\/strong> that I’ve aged more in the last year than I had the previous seven combined. \u00a0I can’t argue with that observation.<\/p>\n If my body would allow it,<\/strong> I’d never give up this gig, but then ignoring my body would contradict the wisdom I’ve gained over the years. From a quality of life standpoint and longevity’s sake, it’s time to hang it up.<\/p>\n I don’t get around as well as I used to,<\/strong> but I still make a point to get up and greet those special to me.<\/p>\n Who I am, the mascot I’ve become, is nine years in the making.<\/strong>\u00a0People forget that. In some respects, Butler Blue III is further along at his age than I was. He’ll be just fine. Only time will tell if he’ll pass my wins,\u00a0accolades, and decorations, but that has nothing to do with being a serviceable mascot.<\/p>\n I don’t know who\u00a0originally\u00a0said it,<\/strong> but “avoid biting when a simple growl will do” are some excellent words to live by.<\/p>\n I’m low to the ground.<\/strong> I see things from a different perspective, and what I’ve found over the years is that success lies in the details. I’m not saying you need to sweat the small stuff, but I am suggesting that you mind the little things. In an over-the-top world, it is the details that make all the difference.<\/p>\n Follow your instincts.<\/p>\n Do you ever notice how dogs never pretend to be someone or something that they’re not?<\/strong> It seems to work for us. Be genuine.<\/p>\n Another old dog proverb says,<\/strong> “If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.” As a stubborn bulldog, I can especially relate. \u00a0And after all, “Bulldogs ever do or die!”<\/p>\n Loyalty. It’s not just for dogs.<\/p>\n Generally speaking, I have no regrets,<\/strong> but I still wish we could’ve captured one of those men’s basketball NCAA titles. While I wouldn’t trade those experiences for the world, that’s still sometimes a hard pill to swallow.<\/p>\n Butler University will move on without me, but I’ve cemented my spot in it’s history. Go Dawgs!<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As I celebrate my ninth birthday and approach\u00a0retirement\u00a0(May 20, 2013) after nine years of service as official mascot of Butler University, I’m offering up yet more introspection…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":614,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5629,52506,52574,16918,52528],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogging","category-campus-events","category-school-spirit","category-social-networking","category-special-eventsopportunities"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/butler-blue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/butler-blue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/butler-blue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/butler-blue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/614"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/butler-blue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1513"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/butler-blue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1745,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/butler-blue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1513\/revisions\/1745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/butler-blue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/butler-blue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/butler-blue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}